OK, maybe the waitress is Mimi. Or maybe not. Thus begs the question...

Who is Mimi?

Most of us assumed from the title, and the first panel, that the coffee drinking redhead is Mimi; and in some of the offshoot story threads, that assumption appears to be correct. However, nowhere, in any of the threads has she (or anyone else) ever been addressed as Mimi. In the June 9 update, we see the waitress calling to our redhead, addressing her with the name Leslie. It is now obvious (assuming I'm drawing the right conclusion from the latest panel) that in the main horizontal thread that Mimi is NOT the coffee drinking redhead. However, if we accept that each vertical thread indicates an alternate reality, we can safely assume, that in some of the vertical threads at least, the redhead is indeed Mimi.

In the first downward thread, the redhead is Mimi. The waitress tells the redhead "that's the last [cup of coffee] you're getting from me until you leave a decent tip." Hence Mimi's Last Coffee.

In the first upward thread, the redhead tells the waitress "I promised Marcel that today would be my last caffeine [read coffee]." Therefore, the redhead must be Mimi here as well.

In the second downward thread, the redhead reminises about "the last coffee I had here." Here again, the redhead is Mimi.

In the third downward thread, Marv walks outside the coffee shop, who's sign reads "Mimi's Last Coffee". Here we have several possibilities. Maybe Mimi is the owner the coffee shop. If that's the case, then it's a good possibility that the waitress is Mimi. Or perhaps, the redhead is still Mimi, hanging out on the other side of the counter (though I doubt this). Or perhaps, Mimi is an absentee owner.

In the second upward thread, we might assume that the coffee drinking redhead is Mimi, because of the apocolyptic blast that ends the tread, thus making that cup of coffee her last coffee...EVER! However, by that logic, anybody drinking coffee with in a 10-15 mile radius of that explosion could be Mimi.

In the fourth downward thread, the redhead leaves the diner after finishing her last coffee . Whether or not it's her last coffee of the day, or of her life, is debatable. However, what seem incontravertable is, that in this thread at least, the redhead is once again Mimi.

But the question still remains regarding the main horizontal thread..."Who am be Mimi?"

think about this. In one of the panels we see the outside of the coffee shop. It's called Mimi's Last Coffee. Huh. So there's no way it would be named after the Leslie Chick...and there would be no reason for the waitress to die since she hadn't had any coffee that we've seen.

So far i think the significance of the title has only to do with the name of the place, and not a specific person...unless it does.

Whether in the main thread or in a soon to be revealed alternate, I anticipate the waitress will indeed be revealed to be Mimi--and that a gun will be revealed from within Leslie's purse (answering the question, "who shot Marcel?").

In the panel where the waitress is screaming "Leslie!", the sidewalk comes in from the left and rounds the corner toward the horizon.

Assuming the redhead hasn't pulled a Frogger during the traffic wreck, the waitress would have to have been coming from the corner which is located at the top of the far-perspective panel - not the bottom.

I can only access the non-flash version, but if I'm following it right, the idea is that each dead end (heh) results in a different interpretation of what "Mimi's last coffee" is referring to. Is that what the flash viewers are getting? For example, so far it's been...

--The name of the restaurant
--The last coffee Mimi (the redhead) drank before the waitress refused her service for being a cheap tipper
--The last coffee that Mimi (the redhead) drank before giving up caffeine
--The last coffee that Mimi (the redhead) drank before disappearing, presumably killed by her husband
--A story told by Mimi (the redhead) about the last (i.e. previous) time she was drinking coffee
--The last coffee that Mimi (the waitress) served before being killed by a car

Hmm...interesting, but too short, IMHO. I enjoy the Flash engine and I hope Scott uses it again. Lotsa possibilities here not yet utilized. I can't blame the guy for wanting to finish the "real" project instead of riffing on possible meanings for a meaningless phrase forever.

Just to be contrary (): I wasn't too impressed. I didn't find the whole "branching storylines" thing particularly interesting the first time I saw it, and it hasn't grown on me. I guess I prefer my comics to form a coherent whole.
What I'd like to see the Tarquin Engine used for is a comic where the different paths show different locations or perspectives. Example:
Bill and Jeff are in a bar, talking about stuff. Eventually, Jeff indicates that he needs to get going if he is to be in time for a date with his girlfriend Linda. Jeff gets up and leaves the bar, causing this path to diverge: one trail stays in the bar, observing as Bill gets into a conversation with a blonde girl (who will later turn out to be a transvestite, but nevermind that), while the other trail follows Jeff on his way to the date.
Concurrent to Bill and Jeff's path runs another path showing Linda and her friend Joan. Joan is telling Linda about seeing Jeff together with another girl. After a while, Linda (upset and suspicious) leaves to go meet Jeff. The path may diverge to also follow Joan (or not) but we follow Linda.
Linda's trail and Jeff's trail now merge, as they meet eachother... and then immediately diverge again, though staying close. This time, the separation is not geographical (or temporal), but one of different viewpoints: Jeff's and Linda's. In both trails, the same converstion is portrayed, but with subtle diferences in how the two characters are drawn, what words are emphasized, the style of lettering, choice of colours, and so on, representing how the two interpret eachother's words and behaviour differently according to their ideas of where each person is coming from (you see, Jeff is innnocent; it's all part of Joan's evil plan to drive the two apart).
And so on. I'd really like to see effects like these used in a long form dramatic comic - used correctly, I think it could be great.

What I'd like to see the Tarquin Engine used for is a comic where the different paths show different locations or perspectives. ... I'd really like to see effects like these used in a long form dramatic comic - used correctly, I think it could be great.

I was thinking much the same thing. I do think the branching storylines thing is a fun novelty, but I've been very curious to see what happens once someone tries to use the Tarquin engine to tell a single, higly intricate storyline. I'd love to see what John Barber would do with it, for instance._________________TwentySevenLetters.comPicture Story TheatreThe Interrobang Theatre Company

Has they been any word on when/if Tarquin is being publicly released?_________________Check out my NEW blog - PuppetVision
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Can ya? Can ya? Can you hear me?
[everbody sing]
How can she be saved?

Oh, wait...I guess she can't. Too bad.

Then again, now that I think of it, I guess I got my wish (or at least part of me did). Thanks Scott. Does this rate me another one of those fab and groovey Zwol No-Prizes, Greg? They'll be something to show the grandkids.

Greg Stephens wrote:

I know that the majority of the Improvs don't end in death, but it sure seems that way!

In life, all things end in death.

As for the Tarquin Engine, I thought it wasn't perfect, but it showed a lot of promise. I think, like everything else, it can, and should be improved upon. I think we've just scratched the surface here of what's possible._________________"Park the beers, and grab the smiles. It's flight time." - LtCdr. J. Robert "Bobby" Stone, USN (R.I.P.)

I feel dead , well, as long as I'm feeling it, then it's not for real. I always disliked subjective view when passing out or being blinded ... It works too well on me and is usually used for making the reader feel the suffering of the character, but killing the reader ! Very effective, I felt shocked, staring at the FIN pannel, searching for a next to click to wake up, and slowly realising I was dead !

What I'd like to see the Tarquin Engine used for is a comic where the different paths show different locations or perspectives.

He doesn't use the Tarquin engine, but occasionally Tragic Lad does this with path lines in his minimalist/absurdist comic-in-progress "Bunny and the Canteloupe" at his site, "The Elusive Fish" (http://www.theelusivefish.com). It's hard to follow sometimes, because it's too large for the screen (i.e. Tarquin would be better) but worth reading because it's funny. By the way, I'm not affiliated with Tragic Lad, I just think he's got a good sense of humor.
- ellinor